Abstract

Ask a parent what a school should teach and they’ll tell you, “When my child leaves school, I want them to be able to understand money, to work well with others, go to university or to get a good job.”

Ask an inspirational teacher and they’ll give a different answer. In physics they’ll say students should be inspired by questions about how the universe started and whether there’s life out there. In chemistry, to learn how to build new drugs and materials that will revolutionise our lives. In history, to learn from our mistakes and successes to build a better future.

What should an inspirational teacher say about computing, the discipline that defined the late 20th century and that is already constructing the 21st? And what computing knowledge and skills should a parent expect their child to know when they leave school? Answers to these questions should inspire and define the content of any computing curriculum, including that to be delivered for the first time in the UK in September 2014.